Lagunas de Ruidera Natural Park

With an extension of some 3,772 hectares, the Lagunas de Ruidera Natural Park was declared in 1979, more specifically on 13 July, and can be found in the autonomous community of Castilla la Mancha, in the middle of the plain and between the provinces of Albacete and Ciudad Real.

This park is made up of a group of fifteen lagoons of different sizes and between 15 and 20 metres deep, covering the towns of Villahermosa, Alhambra, Argamasilla de Alba and Ossa de Montiel. These lagoons are Conceja, Blanca, Tomilla, Salvadora, Morcilla, Retama, Morenilla, San Pedro, Colgada, Cenagal, Del Rey, Lengua, Batana, Tinaja, Escudera and Nava del Caballo.

No special permit is required to enter the park, although there is an Information and Reception Centre in Ruidera. The opening hours in summer are from 10:00 to 21:00, and in winter it is open from Wednesday to Sunday from 10:00 to 14:00 and from 16:00 to 19:30.

We can also find several waterfalls that join the lagoons and small "beaches" and streams where people go to bathe. Next to one of the lagoons, the Laguna del Rey, we can see the remains of a gunpowder factory and other buildings built by Charles III.